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Season 1 – Better Things

Play trailer Poster for Season 1 – Better Things 2016 Comedy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
95% Tomatometer 58 Reviews 84% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
"Better Things" is the story of Sam Fox, a single mother and working actor with no filter trying to raise her three daughters -- Max, Frankie, and Duke -- in Los Angeles. She also looks out for her mother, Phil, an English expatriate with questionable faculties who lives across the street. Whether she's struggling to keep her daughters close or trying to push one of them out of the nest, Sam approaches every challenge with fierce love, raw honesty, and humor. At the end of the day, Sam's just trying to earn a living, navigate her daughters' changing lives, survive her family, have fun with a friend or two, and also -- just maybe -- squeeze in some private time.
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Better Things — Season 1

Better Things — Season 1

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Critics Consensus

Pamela Adlon's Better Things abstains from traditional sitcom sendups and forges a path all its own - in this bawdy, often hilarious and bittersweet ode to the daily highs and lows of being a single mother.

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Critics Reviews

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Geordie Gray The Australian If you’re looking for something that strikes the balance of being easy to watch and sneakily poignant, Pamela Adlon’s family dramedy is just the ticket. Nov 6, 2023 Full Review Chris Harvey Daily Telegraph (UK) It had a delicate touch, too, as a late-night text conversation with a former lover showed. Better Things is rude, funny, provocative and feels so, like, real. Don't miss it. Rated: 5/5 Jan 11, 2019 Full Review Amber Dowling TheWrap Better Things... is one of the best new series to hit the airwaves... Jun 14, 2018 Full Review Aloma Rodríguez Letras Libres Better Things is a transcendental comedy that does not avoid important questions and delves into great themes. [Full Review in Spanish] Jan 29, 2018 Full Review Jac Kern Cincinnati CityBeat If you've ever wondered what Louie would be like with more Pamela, look no further than Better Things... Sep 12, 2017 Full Review Lili Loofbourow The Week Better Things is wry and deadpan and sometimes kind of brutal, but [Pamela] Adlon is so good at playing tough that it's glorious to watch her break down. Aug 28, 2017 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member Very creative and entertaining. The shows presentation is understated but fearless. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/09/23 Full Review Heather L This show hit me so close to home. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/05/22 Full Review Audience Member Best thing on TV, open, honest, surprising, fantastic, incredibly funny and moving. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/09/23 Full Review andrei d Needs to run a little hotter Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Basically the life of a single mother and her kids. Pretty funny exchanges between the mom and the kids sometimes, the humor is actually humorous and I've seen these situations actually happen watching other families. I don't know how I'd react to some of the situations though, my teenage kid asking me to get her drugs to walking in on my daughter in her underwear with a guy in the room with her...surely not as composed as she did, that's for sure. Still on my first season, but I'm sure to binge all 5 seasons sooner or later. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/09/23 Full Review Audience Member I love this show. Great writing, storylines, and characters. After watching it just a few times the characters and personalities do a great job truly pulling you into their livingroom. And the literal backdrop of their house, their livingroom, their kitchen, sets a very cozy and comfortable atmosphere that comes thru the screen. You are in their house for that hour. And mostly I think just about every type of woman can relate to "Sam". I can be in a depressed, somber mood and watching that show somehow always pulls me out of it! I am not quite sure why......could be the things that "Sam" goes thru and how she deals with 'life's issues' makes me see that I'm not alone in how my life turned out.....that's just life! "Sam" makes life and the changes we go thru seem not so serious afterall! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/09/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Better Things — Season 1

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Cast & Crew

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Pamela Adlon

Creator

Louis C.K.

Creator

Pamela Adlon

Sam Fox

Hannah Riley

Frankie

Olivia Edward

Duke

Celia Imrie

Phil

Episodes

Episode 1 Aired Sep 8, 2016 Sam/Pilot Meeting Sam Fox. Details Episode 2 Aired Sep 15, 2016 Period Sam deals with lady things. Details Episode 3 Aired Sep 22, 2016 Brown Sam brings home a colleague for dinner. Details Episode 4 Aired Sep 29, 2016 Woman Is the Something of the Something Sam gets looked at. Details Episode 5 Aired Oct 6, 2016 Future Fever Frankie falls sick, and Sam becomes worried when one of the mothers she knows also has to have surgery; as a result, she asks Phil if she has made a living will. Details Episode 6 Aired Oct 13, 2016 Alarms Sam has to deal with a number of issues, including people her age dating younger women, enduring clothes shopping with the girls, her friends' traumatic experiences, receiving attention at work, and helping Phil with an assortment of things. Details Episode 7 Aired Oct 20, 2016 Duke's Chorus Sam and the family go-to-meeting. Details Episode 8 Aired Oct 27, 2016 Scary Fun Sam makes a point. Details Episode 9 Aired Nov 3, 2016 Hair of the Dog Sam makes moves. Details Episode 10 Aired Nov 10, 2016 Only Women Bleed Only women bleed. Details

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Better Things — Season 1

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Season Info

Director
Nisha Ganatra, Louis C.K., Pamela Adlon, Lance Bangs
Creator
Pamela Adlon, Louis C.K.
Executive Producer
Pamela Adlon, Louis C.K., Blair Breard, Dave Becky
Screenwriter
Pamela Adlon, Louis C.K., Cindy Chupack, Gina Fallore
Network
FX
Rating
TV-MA
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date
Sep 8, 2016